Wild give qualifying offers to Jared Spurgeon, four other RFAs

BRIAN HALL

FS North

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The
Minnesota Wild will keep defenseman Jared Spurgeon and four minor-league players after extending qualifying offers to five restricted free agents.

Spurgeon, 23, is one of Minnesota's top-4 defensemen and paired with
Marco Scandella -- who was re-signed earlier this offseason -- during the playoffs. Spurgeon had five goals and 10 assists and was a plus-1 in 39 games this season for the Wild.

Minnesota can also retain forwards Justin Fontaine and Carson McMillian and defensemen
Tyler Cuma and Kyle Medvec after making the qualifying offers. The Wild chose not to make qualifying offers to forwards Joel Broda and
Benn Ferriero.

Ferriero was acquired from the New York Rangers on Sunday along with a 2014 sixth-round pick in exchange for defenseman
Justin Falk, who was also a restricted free agent. Ferriero will now be an unrestricted free agent.

Fontaine, 25, led the Houston Aeros in scoring last season with a team-high 23 goals to go with 33 assists. The University of Minnesota-Duluth product was also a plus-10. McMillian, 24, had nine goals and nine assists in 64 games.

Cuma, 23, was Minnesota's first-round pick in 2008 had one goal and 11 assists for Houston last season. He's played in one career NHL game for the Wild. Medvec, 25, had six goals and two assists for the Aeros last season.